Imagery In Poison's 'Every Rose Has Its Thorn'

Throughout everyone’s lives, it is inevitable to avoid a bitter breakup. It is something that everyone goes through. This dreadful experience is portrayed in “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” by Poison through contrasting imagery and metaphors.
Poison’s use of imagery within the chorus vividly describes the harsh attributes that are presented in a relationship and the events that transpire after it has ended. The title of the song, “Every Rose Has Its Thorn,” depicts the image of a beautiful rose on which a thorn lies. A rose is usually used as token to express love to a significant other. With every relationship, something can go wrong. This is expressed by the thorn on the rose. Poison also states “ Although we both lie close together we feel miles apart inside” (2). This image of both physical and emotional separation could be the leading cause of the falling out between the two. When a couple begins to stop communication with each other, they become distant which significant strain on …show more content…
The speaker states “ Just like every night has its dawn/ Just like every cowboy sings his sad, sad song/ Every rose has its thorn” (9-11). The contrast between night and dawn directly correlate between the beautiful rose and the unpleasant thorn. The metaphor is that most relationships between young people start off good but eventually end in heartbreak just like the sun must fall each night. The cowboy metaphor is in reference to the wild wild west. In young America, the west was unforgiving just like love. People had to persevere just like the speaker tried in his relationship. Poison also states “ And to see you cuts me like a knife” (33). The second reference to a knife represents how tragic the breakup went and how the speaker feels like he is being cut. This leaves the listener with a scale of the situation and how the speaker feels about